Multiple position reclining chair



May 1, 1962 F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 3,032,372

MULTIPLE POSITION RECLINING CHAIR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 14, 1960INVENTOR. FR/DK/OF A JCHZ /PA/AC,

M 4 w? ,qrroRA/E/ y 1962 F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 3,032,372

MULTIPLE POSITION RECLINING CHAIR.

Filed March 14, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

EQ/DTJOF' E SCHL AFPHACZE y 1962 F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 3,032,372

' MULTIPLE POSITION RECLINING CHAIR Filed March 14, 1960 s Sheets-Sheet5 FIG. 4.

\ IN VEN TOR.

FQ/DZ/OF E SUM/[FHA Ck! w w A 2 V I itev The present invention relatesto improvements in adjustable reclining chairs and in particular relatesto new and improved seat control means for reclining chairs of themultiple position type.

In multiple position reclining chairs, the seat and backrest areindependently mounted for movement to various inclined and reclinedpositions and the angle therebetween varies during such recliningmovement. In chairs of this type, the seat and back-rest are mounted formovement from an upright sitting position through a first motion phaseto an intermediate, semi-reclined position, and then in a second motionphase through various reclining positions to a fully-reclined position.Such type of chair also includes a leg-rest and leg-rest control meansoperative in response to movement of the seat and back-rest to move theleg-rest to an extended leg-supporting position during the first motionphase, and to maintain the leg-rest in proper leg-supporting positionduring the second motion phase.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide areclining chair of the type described having improved control means inthe nature of two seat control links for moving the seat at differentrates relative to the back-rest in the two motion phases.

Another object of the invention is the provision of seat control meansof the character described in which one of the seat control links raisesthe forward portion of the seat at a slow rate during the first motionphase so that in the intermediate semi-reclined position, the seat isonly slightly inclined, and in which the other seat control linkautomatically takes over the seat raising operation during the secondmotion phase and raises the forward portion of the seat at asubstantially faster rate so that the seat is appreciably inclined inthe fully-reclined position of the chair.

In accordance with the invention, the chair includes a four-baractuating linkage formed separately from the seat and driven in responseto movement of the back-rest, and a pair of seat control linksconnecting the four-bar actuating linkage to the seat. Each seat controllink provides a lost motion connection between the actuating linkage andthe seat, the lost motion connection being in the nature of apin-and-slot coupling. The control means is so arranged that a lostmotion action is effected by one of the seat control links during thefirst motion phase while the other seat control link provides a directconnection between the actuating linkage and the seat. During the secondmotion phase, the other seat control link effects a lost motion action,while the first seat control link raises the seat further and at adifierent rate.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following specification, when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away and shown insection, of a reclining chair made in accordance with the invention andshown in an upright sitting position with the leg-rest retracted.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 1, but showing thechair parts in an intermediate, semireclined position, with the leg-restin extended, legsupporting position.

FIG. 3 is'a side elevational view similar to FIG-S. 1 and atet 2 2, butillustrating the chair parts in their fully-reclined position.

PIG. 4 is a side elevation view, with parts broken away and showninsection, of a reclining chair incorporating a modified type of seatcontrol means made in accordance with the invention, the chair beingshown in an upright sitting position with the leg-rest retracted.

FIG. 5 is a sideelevational view of the chair shown in FIG. 4, out withthe chair parts illustrated in an intermediate semi-reclined positionand the leg-rest extended;

ano

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 4, but showing'thechair parts in their fully-reclined position.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, thereclining chair shown therein includes a support frame designatedgenerally by the reference numeral 10, and having a pair of spaced sidewalls 12 and 14 connected by cross bars or braces 16, 18 and20. Thesupport frame it is supported above the floor surface by the usual legs22. v

The chair also includes a body-supporting structure designated generallyby reference numeral 24 and comprising a back-rest 26 and a seat 28. Atits lower end portion the back-rest is mounted on the support frame 19by pivot 38!. A bar 32 is affixed along the lower end of the seat 23 andprojects from the rear end thereof, the projecting rear end, of the bar32 being connected by the pivot 30 to the support frame 10. Thus, boththe seat 28 and back-rest 26 are pivotally mounted on the support frameby the same pivot 30' but are independently turnable thereabout. l

The back-rest 26. has an extension bar 34 rigidly mounted thereon anddepending beneath its'bottom end. This extension bar 34 is connected bypivot 36 to one end of an actuating link 38, the other end of which isconnccted by pivot 4i? to an intermediate point on a guide link 42. Atits upper end the guide link is mounted by pivot 44 on the support frame10.

Movement of the seat is effected by a pair of seat control links 46 and43, both of which are mounted on the guide link 42. The rear seatcontrol link 46 is mounted by pivot 56" at an intermediate point on theguide link 42 while the front seat control link 48 is mounted by pivot52. on the bottom end of said guide link;

Both seat control links 46 and 48 have lost motion connections with theseat 28, which are illustrated in the form of pin-and-slot couplings.Specifically, the rear seat control link 46 has an elongatedlongitudinal slot 54 at its upper end which slidably receives a pivotpin 56 rigidly connected to the seat 28. Similarly, the front seatcontrol link 4% has at its upper end a shorter longitudinal slot 58which slidably receives a pivot pin 60 rigidly connected to the seat 28at a point spaced forwardly of the pin 56.

It will be observed that a four-bar linkage is formed by the actuatinglink 38, the upper portion of guide link 42, the back-rest extension bar34, and the portion of the support frame 10 between the fixed pivots 30and 44 as the stationary link of the four-bar linkage. This fourbarlinkage is actuated by movement of the back-rest and serves as the drivemeans for the seat movement, although the seat 28 is not a part of thisfour-bar linkage. The seat control links 46 and 4d serve as theconnection between the four-bar drive linkage and the seat, and throughtheir lost-motion couplings 54, 56 and 58, 6t effect different seatmovements in the proper sequence during the two motion phases in amanner which will now be described.

In the upright sitting position of the chair shown in FIG. 1, theback-rest extension bar 34 rests against the rear cross-bar 20, .therebypreventing the back-rest 26 u! from pivoting forwardly. The guide link42 is slightly rearwardly inclined and both seat control links 46 and 48are inclined upwardly and forwardly from said guide link toward saidseat. The pivot pin 60 is located at the upper end of the slot 58. Thepin 56 is, however, located at the bottom end of the slot 56 of rearseat control link 46, the latter serving to support the forward end ofthe seat in this sitting position.

When the occupant of the chair in the sitting position of FIG. 1 Wishesto assume a more reclined position for further relaxation, he leansrearwardly against the backrest 26, causing the latter to turn about itspivotal mount 30. During such turning movement, the upper portion of theback-rest moves rearwardly while the back-rest portion below the pivot36 moves upwardly and forwardly, carrying with it the dependingback-rest extension 34. The actuating link 38 is pushed forwardly by thebackrest extension 34, and in turn pushes the guide link 42, causing thelatter to turn forwardly about its pivotal mount 44. The guide link 42thus raises both seat control links 46 and 48. During this first motionphase, the forward seat control link 48 has no active effect upon theseat 28, the slot 58 merely sliding relative to the seat pivot pin 60,until in the intermediate semi-reclined position of FIG. 2, the pin 60is located at an intermediate point in the slot 58. On the other hand,since the seat pivot pin 56 is in engagement with the rear seat controllink 46 at the bottom of slot 54 in the sitting position of FIG. 1, saidrear seat control link 46 is effective to raise the forward end portionof the seat 28 during the first motion phase, causing said seat to turnupwardly a short distance about its pivotal mount 30. The incliningmovement of the seat 28 is small because the rear seat control link 46is mounted by pivot 50 on the guide link 42 only a relatively shortdistance below the pivotal mount 44 of said guide link, and the rearseat control link 46 is therefore raised only a short distance. Thefront seat control link 48 is connected to the bottom end of the guidelink, and is therefore raised a greater distance, this longer travelbeing allowed by the lost motion movement of the pin-and-slot coupling58, 60. In the intermediate position of FIG. 2, therefore, the pin 60 islocated close to the lower end of slot 58 and in such a position as toconnect the seat 28 with the front seat control link '48 during thesecond motion phase, as will presently be described.

In the intermediate semi-reclined position of FIG. 2, the back-rest 26is slightly reclined and the seat 28 is slightly reclined. In suchsemi-reclined position, the occupant is disposed in a comfortableattitude, but is still in a substantially upright, active position withthe eyes forwardly directed, whereby the occupant may conveniently read,view television, converse or the like.

If the occupant now wishes to assume a fully-reclined position forcomplete relaxation, he applies further rearward leaning pressureagainst the back-rest 26. The backrest thus turns further about itspivotal mount 30, and further actuates the guide link 42 through theextension 34 and actuating link 33. Thus, during the second motionphase, the guide link 42 is turned forwardly and upwardly about itspivotal mount 44 until, in the fullyreclined position of FIG. 3, it isdisposed almost horizontally. During such pivoting motion, the guidelink again raises both seat control links 46 and 48.

As was previously indicated, the front seat control link 48 is impartedwith a longer movement than the rear seat control link 46, because theformer is mounted on the guide link 42 a greater distance from thepivotal mount 44. Consequently, during the second motion phase, the seat28 is initially raised by the rear seat control link 46, but the bottomend of slot 58 soon engages the seat pivot pin 60 and the front seatcontrol link 48 then takes over the function of lifting the seat forwardportion. As soon as the pin 60 engages the bottom of slot 58, the frontseat control link 48 begins to turn the seat 28 aboutits pivotal mount39 at a faster rate than did the rear seat control link 46. A lostmotion movement is then provided by the pin-and-slot coupling 54, 56,since the seat is being moved upwardly at a faster rate than the rearseat control link 46. The seat pivot pin 56 thus slides upwardly in theslot 54 until, in the fully-reclined position 0 FIG. 3, it is located atthe top of said slot 54.

It will thus be appreciated that while the seat movement during thefirst motion phase was relatively small under the influence of theslow-moving rear seat control link 46, the ratio of seat movementrelative to back-rest movement during the second motion phase isappreciably increased under the influence of the faster-moving frontseat control link 48. In the fully-reclined position of FIG. 3, the seat28 is substantially inclined, and the occupant is disposed in acompletely relaxed position.

The fully-reclined position of FIG. 3 is determined by engagement of theback-rest extension 34 with the crossbar 18, the latter acting as a stopto prevent further rearward movement. The seat 28 is supported in thisposition by engagement of the pivot pin 60 with the bottom end of slot58.

The chair also includes a leg-rest 66 which is controlled and guided bya leg-rest control linkage which may be of any suitable type, capable ofmoving the legrest from the retracted position of FIG. 1 to the extendedleg-supporting positions of FIGS. 2 and 3. For purposes of illustrationthe leg-rest control linkage, designated generally by reference numeral68, is shown as including a first pair of links '70 and 72 dependingfrom the forward portion of the seat 28 and connected at spaced pointsthereon by respective pivots 74 and 76, and a second pair of links 78and 80 connected to spaced points on the leg-rest 66 by respectivepivots 86 and 88. The end of link 70 is connected by pivot 82 to the endof link 78, while the links 72 and 80 are connected end-to-end by pivot84. The link 74) crosses over the link 80 and is connected thereto atthe crossing-over point by a pivot 90 so that movement of the link pairsis coordinated.

The leg-rest control linkage 68 is driven by an actuating link 92, theforward end of which is connected by pivot 94 to the upper portion oflink 72. The rear end of actuating link 92 is mounted by pivot 40 on theguide link 42.

When the guide link 42 is pivoted forwardly during the first motionphase, it moves the actuating link 92 forwardly, and since the latter isconnected by pivot 94 to the link 72 at a point close to the pivotalmount 76 thereof, the link 72 is swung up a relatively long distance,raising the leg-rest 66 to the extended leg-supporting position of FIG.2. During the second motion phase, the actuating link 92 continues to beraised and moved forwardly by the guide link 42, so that as the forwardend of the seat 28 is raised, the leg-rest 66 is raised with it and ismaintained at proper leg-supporting level in the fully-reclined positionof FIG. 3.

To return from the fully-reclined position to the upright sittingposition, the occupant need only apply downward pressure upon theextended leg-rest 66 and the chair movement is reversed, the seat andback-rest passing through the intermediate semi-reclined position andfinally arriving at the upright position of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4 through 6 illustrate a modified type of seat control structurein which the front and rear control links have lost motion connectionswith the guide link rather than with the seat.

In the chair shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the body-support ing unit andsupport frame are identical to those shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, and aretherefore not illustrated in detail. It is to be understood, however,that the seat and back-rest are independently mounted on the supportframe and when the back-rest is pivoted rearwardly, it actuates seatcontrol linkage to raise the seat.

Movement of the seat 128 is again guided by a pair of seat control links196 and 200 which, in this instance,

are connected by fixed pivots 160 and 156 to the forward end of the seat128. Both seat control links 196 and 200 are carried by the guide link142 and have lost motion connections therewith in the nature ofpin-andslot couplings. Thus, the rear seat control link 260 has anelongated longitudinal slot 202 at its lower end which slidably receivesa pivot pin 150 rigidly located at the intermediate portion of guidelink 142. The front control link 196 also has a longitudinal slot 198 atits lower end which slidably receives a pivot pin 152 rigidly carried atthe bottom end of the guide link 196.

The guide link 142 is mounted by a fixed pivot 144 on a position of thesupport frame. An actuating link 138 is connected by pivot 146 to theguide link 142 at a point between the pivot pins 150 and 152. The rearend of the actuating link is pivotally connected to a dependingextension of the chair back-rest in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 1 to3.

The leg-rest 166 is again carried by a leg-rest control linkage 168which is identical to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The linkage 168includes a first pair of links 179 and 172 depending from the forwardportion of seat 128 and connected at spaced points thereon by respectivepivots 174 and 176, and a second pair of links 178 and 180 connected tospaced points on the leg-rest 166 by respective pivots 186 and 188. Theend of link 1711 is connected by pivot 182 to the end of link 178, whilethe links 172 and 180 are connected end-to-end by pivot 184. The link170 crosses over the link 180 and is connected thereto at thecrossing-over point by pivot 190 so that movement of the link pairs iscoordinated.

The leg-rest control linkage 168 is again driven by an actuating link192, the forward end of which is connected by pivot 194 to the upperportion of link 172. The rear end of actuating link 192 is mounted bypivot 140 on the guide link 142.

In the upright sitting position of the chair shown in FIG. 4, the guidelink 142 is slightly rearwardly inclined and both seat control links 196and 200 are inclined upwardly and forwardly therefrom toward the seat128. The pivot pin 150 is located at the upper end of slot 202, whilethe pivot pin 152 is located at the bottom end of slot 198. The body ofrear control link 290 resting on the pin 150, serves to support theforward end of the seat 128 in the sitting position.

When the back-rest is pivoted rearwardly during the first motion phase,its depending extension pushes the actuating link 138 forwardly in themanner previously described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS.l-3. As the actuating link 138 moves forwardly, it pushes the guide link142, causing the latter to turn forwardly about its pivotal mount 144.As the guide link 142 moves forwardly and upwardly, it raises the rearcontrol link 200 because of the engagement of pin 150 with the top ofslot 202. The front control link 196 is not raised by the guide link142, however, the pin 152 merely sliding upwardly in the slot 198. Thus,during the first motion phase, the rear seat control link 200 raises theforward end portion of the seat 128 during the first motion phase,causing the seat to turn upwardly a short distance about its pivotalmount on the support frame. This inclining movement of the seat 128 issmall because the rear seat control link 200 is mounted by pivot 150 onthe guide link 142 only a short distance below the pivotal mount 144 ofsaid guide link. The front control link 196 has no active effect on theseat during the first motion phase because of the lost motion providedby the pin-and-slot coupling 152, 198.

At the intermediate semi-reclined position of FIG. 5, the seat 128 isslightly reclined, and the occupant of the chair is in a comfortable,but still substantially upright attitude. The guide link 142 is nowslightly forwardly inclined, and the pin 152 is located at anintermediate point in the slot 198. In moving forwardly, the guide link142 pushes actuating link 192 forwardly, thereby 6 extending theleg-rest control linkage 168 and raising the leg-rest 166 to theextended position shown in FIG. 5.

The chair occupant may now apply further rearward pressure against theback-rest to move the chair parts through a second motion phase to thefully-reclined position of FIG. 6. The back-rest thus turns furtherabout its pivotal mount and further actuates the guide link 142 throughthe actuating link 138. The guide link 142 turns forwardly and upwardlyabout its pivotal mount 144 until, in the fully-reclined position ofFIG. 6, it is disposed almost horizontally.

As the guide link 142 pivots upwardly during the second motion phase,the pin 152 moves through slot 198 until it engages the top of said slot198. This provides a fixed pivotal connection between the guide link 142and the front control link 196. Since this connection is further fromthe guide link pivotal mount 144 than is the pivotal connection 150, 202of the rear control link 2410. The front control link 196 is raised at afaster rate than the rear control link 200. Consequently, during thesecond motion phase, the front control link 196 soon takes over thefunction of lifting the seat forward portion. As soon as the pin 152engages the top of slot 198, the front seat control link 196 begins toraise the seat 128 at a faster rate than did the rear seat control link290'. A lost motion movement is then provided by the pin-and-slotcoupling 150, 202, since the seat is being moved upwardly at a fasterrate than the rear seat control link 200. The pivot pin thus slidesdownwardly in the slot 202 until, in the fully-reclined position of FIG.6, it is located at the bottom of slot 202.

As was explained previously in connection with FIGS. 1-3, the seatmovement during the first motion phase is relatively small under theinfluence of the slow-moving rear seat control link 200, while the seatmovement during the second motion phase is appreciably increased underthe influence of the faster-moving front control link 192. In thefully-reclined position of FIG. 6, the seat 128 is substantiallyinclined, and the occupant is disposed in a completely relaxed position.

During the second motion phase, the actuating link 192 is further raisedby the guide link 142, so that a the forward end of the seat 128 israised, the leg-rest 166 is raised with it and is maintained at a properleg-supporting level.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed herein, it is obvious that numerous omissions, changes andadditions may be made in such embodiment without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. A reclining chair comprisin a support frame, a back-rest and a seatindependently mounted on the support frame for movement through a firstmotion phase from a sitting position to an intermediate position and forfurther movement through a second motion phase to a fully-reclinedposition, and seat control means for controlling the movement of saidseat in response to rearward movement of said back-rest in both of saidmotion phases, said seat control means comprising a four-bar actuatinglinkage including a portion of said back-rest and a guide link movablymounted on said support frame, first and second seat control links eachconnected at one end to spaced points on the seat and at the other endto spaced points in the guide link, the connection at one end of eachseat control link being a pin-andslot coupling, the pin-and-slotcoupling of the first seat control link providing a lost motion movementduring the first motion phase with the second seat control link guidingthe seat, the pin-and-slot coupling of the second seat control linkproviding a lost motion movement during the second motion phase with thefirst seat control link guiding the seat.

2. A reclining chair according to claim 1 in which the pin-and-slotcouplings connect the seat control links to the seat.

3. A reclining chair according to claim 1 in which the pin-and-slotcouplings connect the seat control link to the guide link.

4. A reclining chair comprising a support frame, a back-rest and a seatindependently mounted on the support frame for movement through a firstmotion phase from a sitting position to an intermediate position and forfurther movement through a second motion phase to a fully-reclinedposition, and seat control means for controlling the movement of saidseat in response to rearward movement of said back-rest in both of saidmotion phases, said seat control means comprising a guide link movablymounted on said support frame, and operatively connected to saidback-rest for pivoting movement in response to reclining movement of theback-rest, first and second seat control links pivotally mounted atspaced points on said guide link for upward movement when said guidelink is pivoted, first and second lost motion couplings respectivelyconnecting said first and second seat control links to spaced points onsaid seat, said first coupling providing a lost motion movement betweenthe seat and said first control link during said first motion phasewhile the second control link guides the seat through the secondcoupling, the first coupling then providing a fixed pivotal connectionbetween the seat and the first control link whereby the latter guidesthe seat during the second motion phase, with the second couplingproviding a lost motion movement between the seat and second controllink.

5. A reclining chair comprising a support frame, a back-rest and a seatindependently mounted on the support frame for movement through a firstmotion phase from a sitting position to an intermediate position and forfurther movement through a second motion phase to a fully-reclinedposition, and seat control means for controlling the movement of saidseat in response to rearward movement of said back-rest in both of saidmotion phases, said seat control means comprising a four-bar actuatinglinkage including a portion of said back-rest and a guide link movablymounted on said support frame, a pair of seat control links pivotallymounted at spaced points on said guide link for upward movement whensaid guide link is pivoted as part of said four-bar actuating linkage, alost motion coupling for each of said seat control links and connectingthe latter to spaced points on said seat, one of said seat control linksguid ing said seat during said first motion phase while the lost motioncoupling of the other seat control link is effective to permit the seatto move relative to the latter, said other seat control link furtherguiding the seat during the second motion phase, with the lost motioncoupling of said one seat control link operating to permit movement ofsaid seat relative thereto.

6. A reclining chair comprising a support frame, a back-rest and a seatindependently mounted on the support frame for movement through a firstmotion phase from a sitting position to an intermediate position and forfurther movement through a second motion phase to a fully-reclinedposition, and seat control means for controlling the movement of saidseat in response to rearward movement of said back-rest in both of saidmotion phases, said seat control means including a guide link pivotallymounted at its upper end on said support frame and operatively connectedto the back-rest for forward movement in response to reclining movementof said back-rest, a first seat control link pivotally mounted at anintermediate point on said guide link, a second seat control linkpivotally mounted on the lower end of said guide link, a pin-and-slotcoupling connecting the first seat control link to the seat, and asecond pin-.and-slot coupling connecting the second control link to theseat at a point spaced forwardly of the connection between the firstcontrol link and the seat, both said seat control links being raised bysaid guide link during said first motion phase with the first guide linkraising the forward portion of the seat through said first pin-and-slotcoupling and with a sliding action between the pin-andslot of the secondpin-and-slot coupling, the pin engaging the end slot of said secondpin-and-slot coupling during said second motion phase, whereby thesecond seat control link raises the seat, and the first pin-and-slotcoupling providing a lost motion action during said second motion phaseto permit the seat to be raised relative to the first seat actuatinglink.

7. A reclining chair comprising a support frame, a back-rest and a seatindependently mounted on the support frame for movement through a firstmotion phase from a sitting position to an intermediate position and forfurther movement through a second motion phase to a fully-reclinedposition, and seat control means operatively connected to said seat andsaid back-rest for controlling the movement of said seat in response torearward movement of said back-rest in both of said motion phases, saidseat control means including a guide link pivotally mounted at its upperend on said support frame and operatively connected to the back-rest forforward movement in response to reclining movement of said back-rest, afirst seat control link pivotally mounted at an intermediate point onsaid guide link, a second seat control link pivotally mounted on thelower end of said guide link, a pin-and-slot coupling connecting thefirst seat control link to the seat, a second pin-and-slot couplingconnecting the second control link to the seat at a point spacedforwardly of the connection between the first control link and the seat,both said seat control links being raised by said guide link during saidfirst motion phase with the first guide link raising the forward portionof the seat through said first pin-and-siot coupling and with a slidingaction between the pin-and-slot of the second pin-and-slot coupling, thepin engaging the end of the slot of said second pin-and-slot couplingduring said second motion phase, whereby the second seat control linkraises the seat, and the first pin-and-slot coupling providing a 10stmotion action during said second motion phase to permit the seat to beraised relative to the first seat actuating link, a leg-rest, link meansmounting the leg-rest on the seat for movement between a retractedposition beneath the seat and various extended leg-supporting positions,and an actuating link pivotally mounted on the guide link and pivotallyconnected to said link means, said actuating link being moved upwardlyand forwardly by said guide link during said first motion phase to bringthe leg-rest to an extended leg-supporting position and being movedfurther upwardly and forwardly during the second motion phase to raisethe leg-rest further to another extended leg-supporting position.

8. A reclining chair comprising a support frame, a back-rest and a seatindependently mounted on the support frame for movement through a firstmotion phase from a sitting position to an intermediate position and forfurther movement through a second motion phase to a fully-reclinedposition, and seat control means for controlling the movement of saidseat in response to rearward movement of said back-rest in both of saidmotion phases, a four-bar actuating linkage comprising an extension ofsaid back-rest below the pivotal mount of said back-rest on the supportframe, a guide link pivotally mounted on said support frame anddepending therefrom, an actuating link connecting said extension andsaid guide link, and the portion of the support between the pivotalmount of the back-rest and the guide link thereon, said seat controlmeans including first and second seat control links pivotally mounted atspaced points on said guide link for upward movement when said guidelink is pivoted as part of said four-bar actuating linkage, first andsecond lost motion couplings respectively connecting said first andsecond control links to spaced points on said seat, the second controllink raising the forward portion of said seat during said first motionphase while the first lost motion coupling is effective to permit theseat to move relative to the first control link, the first control linkfurther raising the seat forward portion during the second motion phase,with the second lost motion coupling operating to permit movement ofsaid seat relative to the second control link.

9. A reclining chair according to claim 8 in which said first controllink is pivotally mounted on the lower end of said guide link and thesecond control link is pivotally mounted on an intermediate portion ofthe guide link at a point closer to the pivotal mount of the guide linkon the support frame, the first control link being moved a greaterdistance by said guiding link than the second control link whereby theforward portion of the seat is raised a relatively short distance by thesecond control link during the first motion phase and a relatively longdistance by the first control link during the second motion phase.

10. A reclining chair according to claim 9 in which said first lostmotion coupling is located at a point on said seat spaced rearwardlyfrom the second lost motion coupling.

11. A reclining chair according to claim 10 in which both lost motioncouplings comprise pin-and-slot connections between the seat and therespective seat control links,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,615,497 Luckhardt Oct. 28, 1952 2,903,045 Viall Sept. 8, 19592,918,109 Schliephacke Dec. 22, 1959 2,918,113 Lorenz Dec. 22, 19592,940,509 Fletcher June 14, 1960 2,940,510 Schliephacke June 14, 19602,948,330 Lorenz Aug. 9, 1960

